As much as 60,000 barrels a day may be gushing.
Members of the U.S. Army National Guard B Company 711 put Hesco containers along the beaches of Dauphin Island, Ala., Sunday, May 2, 2010. The containers are designed to absorb oil through a fibrous material which reacts with a non-harmful material that changes the sheen to a more solid state which can be recycled. (AP Photo, Michelle Rolls-Thomas)BP may be able to contain all of the flow from the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher within the next four days by installing a tight seal between the wellhead and the surface production vessels, Thad Allen, government’s national incident coordinator, told Businessweek.
The accelerated installation of the seal is needed in before another storm rolls into the Gulf, which will halt any work being done.
The Obama administration is expected to tell BP to begin as early as Saturday morning to replace the cap that has been pushing 16,000 barrels of oil per day to the surface. Today, crews are working to connect a ship to the well which can take in as much as 25,000 barrels per day beginning on Sunday.
BP collected 24,395 barrels of oil yesterday. However, as much as 60,000 barrels a day may be flowing out into the ocean, according to the estimates of a committee of government and academic scientists.
The spill began 82 days ago when the Deepwater Horizon rig blew out and killed 11 crew members. The rig sank on April 22 after burning for over 24 hours. This left a mile of pipe that connected the well broken on the seafloor.
More oil spill news:
»Businessweek:BP Aims to Contain Flow of Gulf Well Within Days
»Washington Post: BP may remove well containment cap Saturday, official says
»Associated Press: Anadarko tells BP it won't help pay for oil spill